The Inbetween Homestead is a blog about the adventures of an suburban "homesteader" trying to live more simply and more self sufficient in these trying times. Follow along as I show my triumphs and disappointments, experiments and tips and tricks to getting the most from your suburban environment as frugally as possible.

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Sunday, December 2, 2012

In the Beginning

Over the years I have had a website and many blogs, all of them trying to zone in on one subject that I am dealing with at the time. What I am finding is that most people have far more than one thing going on at a time, and they are all important things.

Lately I have been an older college student, applied for grad school, raising vegetarian kids, growing my own fruit and vegetables, preserving the harvest, and dealing with a multitude of medical issues like IBS and undiagnosed problems that leave everyone scratching their heads.

What I would like for this blog to eventually be is a place for foodies on a restricted diet, my own health journeys as well as household things such as organizing and paying down debt.

Today I am researching the FODMAPs diet plan which seems to be working pretty well for many people with digestive problems. This plan limits the amounts of certain types of sugars which are found in many different foods. The sugars become gases and are believed to aggravate symptoms of IBS. The food lists are not always consistant as new research is constantly being done catorgorizing the different foods as well as there being some room for individuals who are not bothered by some things while others are.

I am not looking for fads! The paleo diet and no carb diets and every other bandwagon out there all have some truth that makes them work, but I do not feel that it truly addressed the issues of digestive problems. FODMAPs are not about cutting out one type of food (for instance, milk is not okay, but hard cheeses are, so you can still have dairy if you can tolerate it normally. Fruits are okay in limited portions from the allowed types, that sort of thing).

Also, IBS is not imaginary, it is not created by stress although that does aggravate it in a big way and it is not easy to live with for many people. Personally, I have had a c-section with my epidural non functioning, and I still call this pain a 10, and it is a 10 that is unpredictable and lasts for an indeterminate time. IBS can, and often does, completely change your life.

Finding things to eat is only half the battle. In order to go anywhere I need to have a plan in place. My entire day is planned around the pain and the extreme urgency to go, all of the time. Add in the neurosis of not being able to do what needs to get done in a public restroom or even a friend's place, then I have to be even extra careful. My mornings consist of drink 1/2 a mug of green tea (it isn't good for IBS, but it helps with one aspect of the problem without adding in more medications) and at least two hours before I leave for work. I can't make plans because I never know how bad the pain will be. When someone needs a solid answer I can not give it, which results in my not getting to do all of the things that I would like to do. This is a DEBILITATING problem.

So, on that note, I am going back to research. I am hoping to be able to put together a fairly comprehensive list of whole foods that can be eaten or should be avoided when trying the FODMAPs system. I will document how it works here. This blog is not all about health issues though, there will also be homesteading advice for things like gardening and canning foods as well as neat organizational tricks and budget ideas and using found objects rather than buying new and more.